What-A-Burger facts for kids
| Privately held | |
| Industry | Restaurant |
| Founded | 1957 |
| Founders | Jack Branch and Paul E. Branch Jr. |
What-A-Burger is the name for a small group of restaurants started by brothers Jack Branch and Paul E. Branch Jr. and their family. The first What-A-Burger opened in 1957. It was located near a busy traffic circle in Newport News, Virginia. Soon, more locations opened in cities like Richmond, Colonial Heights, and Petersburg, Virginia. These new restaurants were all along busy highways. Another family member also opened a What-A-Burger in Greenville, South Carolina, in the 1950s.
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How What-A-Burger Started
The first What-A-Burger in Virginia opened in 1957. It was started by Jack Branch near Newport News, Virginia.
This first restaurant was at a very busy intersection called Newport News Circle. This area was a major traffic spot, especially after World War II. Many years later, the road was updated, and the original What-A-Burger moved a short distance away. This store is still open today!
Jack Branch also helped open more What-A-Burger restaurants. These were in Richmond, Colonial Heights, and Petersburg, Virginia. There was also one in South Carolina. Many of these early Virginia stores were along a main road called U.S. Route 1. This was a very important road before the big U.S. Interstate Highway System was built.
Where You Can Find What-A-Burger
The very first What-A-Burger is still open in Newport News, Virginia. You can find it at 6117 Jefferson Avenue. It's just a little west of its first spot.
Some other What-A-Burger locations in the Richmond-Petersburg area have closed. For example, the store in Colonial Heights, Virginia, closed in 2015. A newer, more modern What-A-Burger opened nearby in Prince George, Virginia, in 2013. This new store likely led to the older one closing.
One of the oldest locations in Richmond, VA, also closed. However, two other What-A-Burger restaurants are still open. You can find them in Chesterfield County, Virginia, and Petersburg, Virginia.
There's also a restaurant called Roy's Big Burger. It's connected to What-A-Burger and serves very similar food. You can find Roy's Big Burger in Richmond, Virginia.
Other Restaurants with Similar Names
It's important to know that there are other restaurants named What-A-Burger! These were started by different people, not the Branch family.
For example, there's a small chain called What-A-Burger Drive-Ins, Inc. It's based in Concord, North Carolina. This chain was started by Eb Bost and C.W. Bost, Jr. It still has several locations run by their families.
The What-A-Burger restaurants in Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina are not the same as the much larger Whataburger chain. The Texas-based Whataburger was started by a different person named Harmon Dobson in 1950. This Texas company grew very big, with about 800 locations across the southern United States. Whataburger is a huge company, but it does not have any restaurants in Virginia or the Carolinas.
What Makes Their Food Special
What-A-Burger restaurants are known for their big burgers. These burgers are often larger than what you find at many other fast-food places. They also have a smaller menu compared to bigger chains. The food is usually cooked right when you order it, so you can often watch them make it!
Even though major highways now bypass some of these older locations, the Branch family's What-A-Burger restaurants have stayed popular. They have many loyal customers, especially during lunchtime. People who review these restaurants online often say they have been eating there for many years. One review mentioned that you can order a "What-a-burger" or a "What-a-burger with cheese." If you order it "all the way," it comes with mustard, onions, pickles, lettuce, and tomato. You can also add ketchup and mayo.
Lawsuit About the Name
For many years, the Branch family (who started What-A-Burger in Virginia) and Harmon Dobson (who started Whataburger in Texas) didn't know about each other's restaurants.
In 2004, there was a lawsuit between the Virginia What-A-Burger companies and the Texas Whataburger company. The lawsuit was about whether the similar names caused problems. During the case, the Texas company said they had no plans to open restaurants in Virginia.
The court decided that there was no real harm or confusion. The judge said there was no evidence that customers would be confused about whether their burgers came from Virginia or Texas. So, both companies were allowed to keep their names.
See also
- List of hamburger restaurants
